According to multiple reports, Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman has been asked to play Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Gamemaker at the Capitol after Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) was creatively executed at the end of The Hunger Games. Plutarch is a far savvier political animal than his predecessor, and he plays a crucial role in the events of Catching Fire.

Hoffman just ended a widely acclaimed run playing Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway, so why not take the summer off and then hop onto one of the biggest movie franchises in Hollywood? Should the deal go through, it will be the first major new role cast in Catching Fire. Director Francis Lawrence is due to begin shooting the film later this fall. Lionsgate had no comment.